Whether you thought they’d be 14-0 at this point in the season or 8-6, surely you didn’t expect the Miami Heat to have so much turmoil this early in the first year of their projected dynasty.

It’s not just that the Heat are losing games. It’s that they’re losing with Dwyane Wade looking worse than DeShawn Stevenson some nights, with Chris Bosh pulling a Samson act and getting beasted in the paint, with LeBron openly questioning his coach’s tactics, and with injuries ravaging the bench.

Udonis Haslem, whose foot injury was initially diagnosed as something that would keep him sidelined until the All-Star break, now might miss the rest of the regular season, according to South Florida Sun-Sentinel beat writer Ira Winderman. Haslem had surgery earlier today. Looking to fill the void left by Haslem, the team has signed free agent center Erick Dampier, and subsequently waived guard Jerry Stackhouse to make room on the roster.

Stackhouse, 36, made his only start of the season in the loss to Memphis over the weekend, where his jump shot was off and he had a tough time keeping up defensively. Dampier was starting for a playoff team as recently as last season when he was with the Mavericks.

Still, Dampier can’t cover for the offensive production the team had with Haslem, who especially in the two losses to the Celtics, was one of the few Miami players to produce in crunch time along with LeBron. That means Bosh has to step up. Quietly, the much-maligned Bosh has put together three straight games of at least 20 points and 10 boards a night, but Miami has lost two of those games.

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That’s weird the Raptors lost a lot of games when Bosh averaged those numbers.

11.23.10 at 5:22 pm

Aron Phillips

Will be interesting to see if Damp is in game shape.

11.23.10 at 5:23 pm

George W Kush Sr

They should have signed Damp a long time ago…

11.23.10 at 5:53 pm

NTstateOFmind

Dampier is suddenly the savior of this team that will right the ship …i don’t buy it, just another liability joining this Titanic

11.23.10 at 6:02 pm

WinDelRoj

They dont need him to score any points. In fact all he has to do is box out and rough someone up every once in a while. Theres no chemistry at the moment but that will come. Im curious to see if the CBA is going to allow the Heat to walk away from the Chris Bosh experiment.

11.23.10 at 6:40 pm

stefan

funny thing.. after they all gave up a few millions of their salaries for Haslem, I thought hmm what if he gets injured, does he pay them back? happened sooner then I thought

11.23.10 at 6:43 pm

Cin

Who had any idea when Dan Gilbert cursed Lebron like Celie from ‘The Color Purple’ that it would work?
“Until you do right by me, everything you even think about gonna fail!”

11.23.10 at 7:15 pm

First & Foremost

This just goes to show that story lines mean more to teams than actually winning. Ignoring Injuries. David Lee would have been perfect for the Heat. Doesn’t need plays run for him, rebounds and “defends” the 4/5 spot. He is like Haslem except you know… minus the Florida via google maps tattoo. But no, more story lines were to be had from getting players draft 1,4,5 & were best friends & already knew how to play with each other since they helped steamroll the rest of the world.

A less perfect fit but better than Bosh. Carlos Boozer. He did everything but get on 1 knee asking to go to Miami. Low Post presence, Rebounds, takes charges, and generally looks tougher when compared to Bosh.

Oh well, no pressure on Bosh. Just show up and count money.

11.23.10 at 7:38 pm

bookkwormmaster

You just have to look at this team and ask is this karma? Mike Miller gets injured before the season starts, Udonis Haslem is now injured (possible for the rest of the season), Chris Bosh is being exposed as soft and not much of a difference maker, Michael Beasley is killing in Minnesota, Dwyane Wade has dealt with nagging injuries, Lebron James is putting up numbers yet they lose when he does, they get their collective asses handed to them twice by Boston in less than a month, and their losing games to lowly struggling (albeit talented) sub 500 teams like Memphis and Indiana. Is this karma?

11.23.10 at 9:07 pm

sh!tfaced

Ericka and RuPaul in the same frontcourt… Shaq must be foaming at the mouth…

11.23.10 at 11:01 pm

clownfish

One word: karma.

11.24.10 at 12:09 am

neoy

shit just hit the fan…

Pat Riley the REAL SAVIOR is coming soon…

give it 10 more games at most

11.24.10 at 12:25 am

Hassan

lmao @ sh!tfaced

11.24.10 at 2:08 am

AFCA

lmao @ sh!tfaced

11.24.10 at 2:35 am

QQ

This is just them painting a target on their back so big (and acting and talking like they can carry it) yet falling short (well, at least at this point of the season, when they be at AT LEAST 11-3 for all that lofty expectations)

In other words, a microcosm of Lebron James’ career after 2007.

11.24.10 at 8:58 am

ERIC

Why do the HATE insist on signing over-the-hill 35+years old veterans (stack, damp, j-howard, big Z) when there are young, talented, energetic, scrappy players in the d-league or overseas that would be willing to inject some energy/enthusiasm/toughness into this team.

11.24.10 at 10:14 am

Tee

@Eric They do it because it is safe. The same reason NBA coaches that get fired keep getting jobs again.

11.24.10 at 10:34 am

Greatness(BackInBlack)

they went for the experience

11.24.10 at 10:50 am

Ses

Lets face it here, does the word “overrated” pop into anyones mind! Yes, LeBaby can put up good numbers, but what has he won besides personal awards? Sure, Wade has a ring, but think about the team he had (remember 15 strong!). Bosh is not even worth mentioning to be honest. These guys are rich south-beach premadonnas who feel a since of entitlement, the problem is the rest of the league realizes its! In closing, Erick Dampier will not be a factor, and Karma is always a bitch!

11.24.10 at 11:48 am

NYK

they should’ve signed Allen Iverson, hell they’ll probably even take Stephon Marbury with the crapola of point guards they have now.